Effective May 1992, the college made certain guarantees to its students who earn an Associate of Applied Science degree or who complete a certificate program. If an Associate in Applied Sciences or Certificate Program graduate is judged by his or her employer to be lacking in technical job skills identified as exit competencies for his or her specific degree or certificate program, the graduate will be provided up to nine tuition-free hours of additional skill training by the college under the conditions of the guarantee policy.
Special conditions, which apply to the guarantee, are as follows:
- The graduate must have earned the Associate of Applied Science Degree or completed the certificate program in a technical program identified in the college catalog.
- The graduate must have completed this degree or certificate program at a college of the DCCCD (with a majority of the credits being earned at the degree- or certificate-granting college) and must have completed the degree or certificate within a four-year time span.
- Graduates must be employed full-time in an area directly related to the area of program concentration as certified by the Vice President of Instruction.
- Employment must commence within 12 months of graduation.
- The employer must certify in writing that the employee is lacking entry-level skills identified by the college as the employee's program competencies and must specify the areas of deficiency within 90 days of the graduate's initial employment.
- The employer, graduate, division dean, job placement office, academic advising office, and appropriate faculty member will develop a written educational plan for retraining.
- Retraining will be limited to nine credit hours related to the identified skill deficiency and to those classes regularly scheduled during the period covered by the retraining plan.
- All retraining must be completed within a calendar year from the time the educational plan is agreed upon.
- The graduate and/or employer is responsible for the cost of books, insurance, uniforms, and other course-related expenses.
- The guarantee does not imply that the graduate will pass any licensing or qualifying examination for a particular career.
- The student's sole remedy against the college and its employees for skill deficiencies shall be limited to nine credit hours of tuition-free education under conditions described above.
- The program can be initiated through written contact with the Office of the College President.
